Ganden at 4,500m in central Tibet is the major highlight of Lhasa-Ganden Tour. The Lhasa-Ganden Tour also takes you to Lhasa to visit the Potala Palace, winter home of the Dalai Lama, Jorkhang Temple, the center of the Tibetan Buddhism, Barkhor Street, Drepung and Sera Monasteries and Norbu Lingka.
In Ganden, 60 km east of Lhasa, you will visit the Ganden Monastery, built in 1409, the 7 years during the reign of Emperor Yong Le of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Drepung Monastery is another great monastery of the Gelukpa (yellow hat) sect,
Day 01: Fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa.
Day 02: This day you visit Potala Palace, Sera Monastery and Norbulinka.
Day 03: This day you are programmed to visit Drepung Monastery, Jorkhang Temple and Barkhor Street.
Day 04: Lhasa - Ganden(65kms, driving about 1 hour)
Day 05: Early morning transfer to Gonggar airport and fly to Kathmandu.
Early morning you are transferred to the airport to board the plane for the flight over the Himalaya to Lhasa. If the weather is clear, there are wonderful views of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, Kanchenjunga and other peaks en route. On arrival at Gonggar airport (which is 60 km. from Lhasa), you meet your Tibetan guide and drive to Lhasa. After arrival at your hotel, the rest of the day is free for you to explore the local areas and acclimatize yourself to the air, temperature and high altitude of Lhasa.Stay overnight at hotel.
One of the highlights is the visit to the symbol of Tibet; the Potala Palace set high on Red Hill, the winter home of the Dalai Lama until 1959. Potala Palace is regarded as one of the most beautiful architectural building in the world. You will climb up the palace along the zigzag stone paths with white-and-red walls to the top of the palace where you can not only appreciate the exotic Tibetan-style architecture, but also get a great view of Lhasa’s urban areas, then walk into the inner space of Potala Palace to explore the stately chapels and learn about the history of the palace.
In the afternoon visit Sera monastery, which was created in 1419, has always been an important Buddhist seminary. As rose are planted everywhere in the monastery, it is also called “the court of wild rose”. Today still 200 lamas live in there. Another great treasure is the Norbulingka– the beautiful Norbulingka which used to be the former summer palace of Dalai Lamas in the ancient time, and now is a public park. It is famous for its Potrang, the private palaces of former Dalai lamas with grandiose Tibetan architecture style.Stay overnight at hotel.
Today, you will visit Drepung monastery, one of the great monasteries of the Gelukpa (yellow hat) sect, just outside Lhasa. Drepung, in Tibetan, means “prosperity”. Since its establishment, Drepung Monastery has always been one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. In its heyday, there were more than 10,000 monks lived and studied in the monastery. Throughout its history, many important and famous Tibetan leaders used to study here, especially the Dalai Lamas. So Drepung Monastery is also respectfully known as the “Mother School of Dalai Lamas”.
In the afternoon, you will visit Jorkhang temple, the center of the Tibetan Buddhism and the sacred land of Buddhist followers where innumerable pilgrims come for worship every day. The temple, built in 647, is the earliest wood-and-masonry structure still existing in Tibet. Surrounding the Jorkhang Temple is the bustling Barkhor Market place which is the religious and social focus of Lhasa. Around the Barkhor, there are numerous stalls selling all sorts of handicrafts: brightly colored boots and fur-lined hats, silver and turquoise jewelry, rosaries, prayer flags and charms, as well as beautiful Tibetan carpets and all manner of ordinary household ware. Stay overnight at hotel.
Drive one hour to Ganden Monastery, one of the major Gelug Monasteries of Tibet. Visit the monastery and take warm up hike along the pilgrimage path, kora of the monastery. Stay overnight at hotel.
The flight from Lhasa to Kathmandu takes one hour and during your flight, you can see YarlungTsangpo River, YamdrokTso [Lake], Mount Kanchanjungha (8,586m.), Mount Makalu (8,463m.) and Mount Everest (8,848m.). But the visibility depends on the weather condition. Your Tibet Tour ends upon your arrival at Kathmandu Airport.
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